


Petunia's Duo Dilemma

by Nyx Nox (Nellis123)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Child Abuse, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-18
Updated: 2015-07-18
Packaged: 2018-04-09 23:09:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4367864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nellis123/pseuds/Nyx%20Nox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A dreary Halloween night prompted the arrival of Lily Potter's twin son and daughter outside number four, Privet Drive. Petunia and Vernon Dursley never wanted the children. They ensured their first ten years of life were full of nothing but abuse. What would happen when one of the relatives discovered a soft spot for the children? AU. Child abuse is a focal point of this story. It's nothing overly graphic, but please read at your own risk. Previously seen on ffn.net.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Petunia's Duo Dilemma

**Author's Note:**

> This work is complete but in the process of being edited and uploaded, so it should be up in full by the end of the week. Thanks for reading!

_I never meant to treat them the way I did. The burdens, spawns, of my hated sister, were dumped on my doorstep along with a note that announced the death of my sister. I remember finding them as though it were yesterday..._

* * *

  **Sunday, November 1, 1981**

A small wailing, almost a mew, could be heard outside the usually quiet Privet Drive. My eyes fluttered open in annoyance. Vernon, my beloved husband, was sound asleep beside me, completely oblivious to the world around him. I let out a small sigh and stretched, standing up and sliding my feet into my slippers. My hands blindly reached for my bathrobe. I couldn't be seen in just my nightgown after all. I stood by the window and adjusted the blinds to look at the street below me. The whimpering grew louder when I reached the window. My curiosity got the best of me, leaving me no choice but to investigate.

A small wailing, almost a mew, could be heard outside the usually quiet Privet Drive early Sunday morning. Petunia Dursley, having never been one to sleep lightly, sat upright in bed and yawned, eyeing her still sleeping husband before she got ready to investigate the sound. Her hands groped around the side of her bed, searching for her bathrobe that was placed somewhere on her nightstand. A low groan left her lips when she found it and she tugged it toward her, not quite ready to leave the bed.

Petunia yawned, stretching until she felt ready to get up and open the blinds that kept the morning light from entering their bedroom. She released a sigh and made her way downstairs. A tray of empty milk bottles sat at the end of the staircase and Petunia bent down to grab them, figuring it best to have them out before Dudley woke up. _  
_

A loud shriek was heard when she opened the door and the milk bottles were sent crashing to the ground. The mewing noise changed to a loud cry, causing the woman to avert her gaze to the two bundles at her feet. Her grey eyes widened in shock at the sight in front of her.

Two babies, both appeared to be a little over a year old, lay on the ground. Each of them was swaddled in a blanket, one blue and one pink. A boy and a girl Petunia concluded. She looked around the street, glad that no one else was around. There were no signs of parents or a wayward teen. She had to do something before the neighbors saw.

She groaned at the thought of the neighbors finding out and picked up the baby in the pink blanket. A little girl with brilliant emerald eyes stared up at her. Petunia almost dropped the infant. She saw the shade of green once before, in the eyes of her younger sister. Petunia began to freak out, stumbling her way back inside. She placed the baby in the middle of the kitchen table and made her way back to the porch to retrieve the crying boy.

Petunia lifted up the little boy, cringing when she spotted the blood on his forehead. She couldn't stop staring at the bloody, lightning shaped cut. A small letter was attached to the side of his blanket. She stepped into the house with a roll of her eyes.

"Dudley had better be sleeping still." She mumbled and shook her head, quickly shutting the door behind her and glancing around to make sure no one saw. The boy sniffled in her arms and looked up at her with the same colored eyes as his sister. Petunia ignored him and brought him into the kitchen to be with his sister. The letter went unnoticed until Petunia set the black haired boy on the table beside the other baby. Her hands shakily reached for the letter, grasping it tight enough to crumple the envelope. She stood there, about to break the seal, until Vernon entered the room.

"Pet, why isn't breakf-" Her husband paused mid-sentence, gaping at the infants on the table. "What are these?"

Petunia didn't answer him at first, having finally opened the letter, clearly surprised by the envelope's contents.

"My sister's children," The answer came out in a small squeak.

"Sister? When did you have a sister?" Vernon stared at Petunia in disbelief. Then the realization hit him. "The one who was shunned from the family for believing in magic?"

"Yes Vern. Lily and James," Petunia nodded and continued. "These are their children. The one in the blue is Harry James and the one in the pink is Iris Leanne." She looked up from the letter and shook her head. "They're both a little over a year old. One month younger than Dudley and already attempting to walk and talk."

Petunia frowned and bit her lip to resist the need to cry at the twins' predicament. Lily's babies were her pride and joy. Her sister wouldn't have traded them for anything in the world. The only reason she knew about the twins' existence prior to finding them on her doorstep was because Lily had the nerve to send a letter with moving pictures to announce their birth. Petunia paled and offered the letter to her husband, unable to continue reading it.

" _Mrs. Dursley, we regret to inform you of the untimely death of your sister and her husband,_ " Vernon read aloud. " _They were killed in an attack by Lord Voldemort - an evil wizard, similar to a dictator in your world, late last night._ What is this crap? Wizards? It's not April fool's day is it?"

"Lily told me about him at one point," Petunia whispered, eyeing the twins with a sad expression.

" _The only survivors were their children, Iris Leanne and Harry James Potter. You are the only living family the infants have. I ask that you keep them in your care until they reach age seventeen. I thought it was best to keep them away from the wizarding world until they turn eleven._ " Vernon's hands began to shake, his face turning a brilliant shade of red. "They're dumping them on our doorstep and expecting us to care for them without complaining. We have a son of our own. Think of the amount of diapers, bottles… the cost to raise three children of the same age. We aren't even being paid to care for them."

"We are taking them in Vernon," Petunia said through gritted teeth. "We can double up on diapers. Even start potty training the two earlier than you normally start to teach a child to. When they can walk without stumbling and falling over… That would be the best time to start."

"And what do we do when they start showing signs of magic?" Vernon growled. "I don't want Dudley to be treated differently because of his cousin's 'abilities'."

"Punish them. Put them in timeout or in the corner. Grounding will be saved for bigger offences." Petunia tilted her head a little. Her eyebrows furrowed in thought. "My parents should have done that with Lily," The words came out in a small whisper. "She _could_ have been saved."

"We have to treat them as though they are normal - at least until they start showing magic. Dudley needs to know that he is better than his cousins." Vernon was almost yelling by the time he finished. "Suppose we squish it out of them. Never mention their past."

"That's the thing, Vernon," Petunia muttered. "They aren't normal." She shot a glance at the twins on the table, ignoring the twinge in her heart as she resisted the urge to pick up one of the babies. "They never will be normal. Look at how my sister and her husband turned out. Dead. Death brought on by their kind." Angry tears dripped down her face. "I don't want that to happen to them... The cupboard. Yes! The cupboard. That is safest. Who would look for a child in a cupboard?"

Vernon opened his mouth to speak and quickly shut it, thinking it wouldn't be wise to interrupt his wife while she was upset.

"Vernon. Go... Go find that spare cot. Make it fit in there. That's where they'll stay, safe and out of the way. The door is thin enough. We will hear them if they start crying."

"You can't just stick two kids in a cupboard, Petunia," Vernon said, scowling a little at the thought. "What will their kind think if they find out about it?"

"They won't find out about it," Petunia rolled her eyes. The couple went quiet after that, highly concerned about what would happen if they let the children into their home.

"Mum mum mum," Iris called out, breaking the silence between Petunia and Vernon. Petunia's emotional mask broke. Tears began to flow down her cheeks as she looked at the girl.

"No," Petunia sighed. "Mummy isn't here."

"Mum," Iris said again. Her little face contorted with worry. She was expecting Lily to walk into the room.

"Mama?" Harry shared his sister's worry. Both twins began to cry when Lily failed to appear. Petunia and Vernon groaned when Dudley's cries were added to the mixture of tears.

"Vernon go get Dudley. I will handle these two," She muttered and picked up Harry. Vernon left the kitchen to calm Dudley.

"Shh," Petunia attempted to comfort him and pull the blanket off of him at the same time. She continued to whisper shush until his crying reduced to sniffling. Petunia placed Harry in Dudley's high chair. She strapped him in and turned around to get Iris.

Iris was still crying. Petunia glared at the baby, only causing her to scream louder. Groaning, she balanced Iris on her hip and walked over to the sink to grab a washcloth. The washcloth was quickly placed under lukewarm water and rung out. She walked over to Harry and set Iris on the ground by the high chair.

"I'm going to clean your cut," Petunia told the boy in the high chair. Her hand reached forward and gently pulled up Harry's hair. She brought the cloth to his head and cringed at the amount of blood the wound created.

"I see why you were crying," She whispered and wiped most of the blood off his head. Harry stayed silent, brilliant green eyes watching all of Petunia's actions.

Iris' stomach growled loud enough for Petunia to hear and she began to cry again.

"You two must be hungry," Petunia muttered and walked around Iris. She opened the fridge and pulled out one of Dudley's unused bottles of formula. She took another bottle out of the sink and poured half of the original bottle's contents into the new one, not bothering with heating them.

Petunia placed one bottle on the highchair. Harry was fast to pick up the bottle. She picked up the still screaming Iris and shoved the bottle into her mouth. Iris' eyes widened at the bottle's sudden intrusion in her mouth. Her screaming turned into hiccoughs as Petunia removed the bottle from her mouth.

"That should keep you quiet," Petunia growled in annoyance. All the crying was giving her a headache, making the little patience she had left disappear.

Iris stared up at Petunia, her tiny hands reached up for the bottle. Petunia brought the bottle to Iris' mouth and allowed her to drink it for a few seconds. She removed the bottle a moment later. This caused the baby to reach up again and pout. Petunia continued to do this until the bottle was mostly gone. She made a game out of it, laughing a little when the baby got annoyed with not being able to drink her bottle in peace.

"This could be fun," Petunia whispered once Iris finished and set the bottle on the table.


End file.
